1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wagering game networks and gaming machines for playing games of chance. More specifically, it relates to managing and administering portable wagering game devices in a gaming environment having a gaming zone topology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gaming is an increasingly popular industry, with casinos and other gaming establishments continually seeking new and exciting ways to present games of chance for play. Many wagering games are typically presented on large, free-standing or stand-alone gaming devices, such as electronic slot machines, video poker machines and the like. Some games of chance such as keno and bingo may be played in areas specially configured to present the game to players (e.g., at areas where personnel pick up keno cards and called numbers are displayed on large displays).
A substantial disadvantage to the way many wagering games are currently presented is that a player may participate in a particular game only at certain specified locations or on specific gaming machines or tables. For example, in order to play a specific video poker game, a player may have to walk through a large hotel or casino to a specific gaming area where the actual video poker gaming machine is located. The time taken by players to walk through casinos, hotels, and similar properties amounts to lost revenue to gaming operators since that time is not spent on game play or other casino or hotel services.
Thus, casinos and other gaming operators are always striving to provide their customers with greater accessibility to gaming devices and to the opportunity to play wagering games. Consequently, it is inevitable that hand-held, portable gaming devices will make their way into the wager gaming world, a concept that has been loosely referred to as “curb-to-curb” gaming. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,939 and patent application Ser. Nos. 10/672,307 and 10/871,876, address systems and methods for providing games of chance on a wireless game player, such as a hand-held Personal Gaming Device (“Personal Gaming Device”). Of course, added issues can arise whenever players are permitted to engage in wager gaming from mobile or remote locations, such as through the use of such a mobile gaming device. For example, security for any gaming operator-owned mobile gaming devices, increased fraud prevention, flexibility in mobile gaming device use, and player authentication and verification, are only a few examples of such issues.
In a recent move towards the use of mobile gaming devices, in 2005 the Nevada Gaming Control Board and its parent, the Gaming Commission, said they will allow mobile gaming (i.e., wager gaming through the use of mobile, wireless gaming devices) if operators can meet specific requirements. It will not be long before such devices for mobile gaming are seen in casinos and, more significantly, in other traditionally non-gaming areas. For example, regulations passed in Nevada in March 2006 (based on the 2005 legislation) allow mobile, hand-held devices for gambling in any public area of the state's casinos, such as restaurants and pool areas, shopping malls, nightclubs, and convention centers. This significant development in gaming regulations allows for better use of resort and hotel space, areas that have traditionally been used or are increasingly being used for non-gambling activities.
The Nevada regulations allow for a range of games of chance, including poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, slots, and horse-race betting to be played on mobile gaming devices if certain requirements are met. Two important and technically challenging requirements for mobile gaming will be 1) controlling how a portable gaming device is used (gaming vs. non-gaming services) based on the device's location; and 2) ensuring that only authorized users actually use the portable gaming device.
Although there is technology for monitoring the location of a portable device, such as radio frequency (RF) and global positioning systems (GPS), the equipment needed for deriving location is expensive and complex, and requires restrictions and controls. Furthermore, many gaming environments are not well suited for RF communication. Current access point triangulation, for example, requires sophisticated oscillators (that measure at the level of picoseconds because distances in a gaming environment can be very short) and other expensive equipment, and provides an exact location. However, measurements that provide such a high level of precision are generally not needed and, thus, the expense and complexity of access point triangulation may not be best suited for solving the problem of obtaining a close approximation of the location of a mobile gaming device that would meet the requirements of the new mobile gaming regulations.
Therefore, what is needed is a gaming network and wireless communication system that enables management of mobile gaming devices in a gaming network that has gaming and non-gaming areas and that meets mobile gaming regulations. Such a gaming network and communication system would facilitate determining a sufficiently accurate location of a portable gaming device in a property having gaming and non-gaming areas. Preferably, it would enable user and device authentication by determining whether an authorized and verified user is using an authorized and verified gaming device whenever the device is in use.